Gracie Dutton

5

Gracie looked over at Ryan. She smiled gently and then looked back out the truck window. It was Saturday night and Ryan was taking her out to dinner. Gracie needed a break from the ranch anyways and she was excited to be alone with Ryan. He reached over and entwined his fingers with her own. "You look beautiful," he told her. Gracie felt a blush creeping onto her cheeks. "Thanks. You clean up pretty nice," she teased making Ryan chuckle. "Thanks, Gracie." They had dinner at a small diner in town and then walked around the shops. Gracie enjoyed being able to go out with Ryan. They both lived such busy lives that it was nice for once to have nothing else going on. Ryan pulled Gracie back towards the truck and held the door for her to get in. Ryan started driving back towards the ranch. "Did you have a good time?" He asked. "Yes. Thank you for taking me out." Gracie smiled and looked over at him. They were about 20 minutes away from the ranch when Ryan pulled the truck over. "Do you want to look at the stars?" He asked and Gracie smiled once again. "Yeah," she answered. She was surprised when she saw blankets and pillows already set up in the bed of the truck. They climbed in and laid down, Gracie cuddling into Ryan's warm embrace. "It's beautiful out," she said softly. Ryan soothingly rubbed her back. "It is. It's gonna start getting cold soon though." Gracie hummed in agreement and closed her eyes. "Baby," Ryan said gently after a few moments of silence. Gracie looked up at him. "Hmm?" Ryan leaned forward and kissed her tenderly. "I love you, Gracie," he whispered against her lips. Gracie felt a smile spread across her face. "I love you too," she whispered back. Ryan pulled her body down against his and kissed her again. His lips fit with hers perfectly. Lucy loved the way he kissed her. "Ryan," she whispered against his lips. "I want more." Ryan pulled back slightly and looked her in the eye. "Are you sure?" He asked. Gracie just nodded her head. Ryan looked at her for a moment then shook his head. "No. If we are doing this, we're going to do it right." He brushed some hair behind her ear. "Let's head home. I'll sneak up to your room." Gracie looked at him then nodded.
***
"Gracie!" John called out as he knocked on Gracie's door. Her eyes flew open and she almost got whiplash as her head flew to the side seeing Ryan asleep beside her. "Shit!" She whispered. She sat up and looked down at her naked body. Thoughts of last night flashed through her mind and she felt a blush creep up her neck. "Gracie, you in there?" John tried again, rattling the locked doorknob. Ryan woke up with a start hearing all the commotion. "Yeah! You need something?" Gracie got out of bed quickly and threw some clothes on. Ryan tried not to laugh when she almost fell to the floor trying to get her leg in her pants. "You missed breakfast. Wanted to make sure you were okay." John stood on the other side of the door confused as he heard all the shuffling from in her bedroom. Ryan looked at the clock and cursed in his head knowing he was late for work. He got up and threw his clothes on. "Yeah my alarm didn't go off!" Gracie commented back and sighed in relief when she heard John's footsteps retreating from her door. She looked over at Ryan. "How are you going to sneak out of here?" She asked anxiously. "Just go down and distract him," Ryan urged and Gracie nodded. Before she could open the door, Ryan pulled her back towards him. He hugged her close and kissed her head. "I love you," he whispered and Gracie smiled. "I love you too." He leaned down and pressed a kiss to her lips then let her go. Gracie found John sitting in his office. "What did Gator make for breakfast?" She asked, feigning interest. Ryan was able to sneak out of the house unnoticed but when he got down to the stables was a different story. "Where the hell have you been?!" Rip's voiced echoed as Ryan approached the group. Ryan didn't answer him, not having enough time to make up an excuse. "Sorry," was all he could say. Colby was trying his best to hold his laughter. "What the fuck is so funny?!" Rip snapped and Colby quickly composed himself. Rip turned and eyed Ryan up and down. He took notice that those were the same clothes he took Gracie out in last night and realization dawned on him. Rip kept his anger at bay. "Go shower. We got shit to do." Ryan nodded and went off to the bunkhouse. Rip felt disgusted at the thought of one of his workers sleeping with his daughter just a couple doors down from his own bedroom. Then the anger resurfaced at the thought of one of this workers disrespecting him in that way. Rip shook his head and looked at the group. "What the fuck are you idiots standing around for? Get back to work!"
***
Gracie groaned in annoyance as Jamie walked in through the front door. "Why are you here?" She asked him from her place on the couch. "Got a meeting with some people. Where's dad?" Gracie closed her laptop and shrugged her shoulders. "I don't know. I think he went out to check on the wranglers." She stood up. "Whose the meeting with?" She asked curiously. Jamie rolled his eyes. "None of your business," he responded. "Whatever," she said and went in the kitchen to grab a water. She walked back out into the living room to see Jamie looking frantic and going outside. She went after him. Her eyes widened slightly at seeing guns drawn between 2 men that looked like bodyguards and Rip. John was standing off to the side and in front of her at the bottom of the porch stairs were 2 other men she had never seen before. "Dad, these are the Beck brothers. They wanted to talk to you," Jamie said from beside Gracie. The men put theirs guns away. "I'm Malcolm and this is my brother Teal," Malcolm introduced himself. "Quite the group you have," he said amused as his eyes scanned over Rip, then Jamie, and lastly landing on Gracie. Malcolm looked her up and down then made eye contact with her. Gracie felt uneasy at how he looked at her but she kept her face void of any emotion, her eyes staring him down. "This your granddaughter, John?" Malcolm broke the gaze and looked over at John. John felt his stomach drop at hearing him refer to Gracie by her true relationship to him. Rip felt his heart rate pick up and Gracie felt the blood drain slightly from her face, confusion filling Jamie at how this man knows the truth. Before anyone could respond, he continued, "my ain't she a pretty little thing. I didn't catch your name..."Gracie scoffed, "That's because I didn't give-" "Gracie, isn't it?" He cut her off, a light smirk playing on his features. Gracie got a sick feeling in her stomach. "What do you want?" John deamnded. "Can we talk in private?" Malcolm asked. John led them over to the adirondack chairs by the big tree. Jamie looked over at Gracie and could feel the uneasiness radiating off of her. "Go inside," he told her as he walked down the porch stairs. Gracie did as told, her hands shaking slightly as she attempted to continue on with her school work. The way Malcolm's eyes took in her body made a shiver run through her. Rip and John shared a look with one another once the men finally left. "How do they know?" Rip asked. "I swear I didn't say anything," Jamie said truthfully. John sighed. "We've got another enemy on our hands," John said, fully aware that denying their alliance would lead to another war. Rip walked into the lodge. He saw Gracie on the couch trying so hard to focus on the task in front of her. He walked over to her and crouched down. "Hey," he said gently and stilled her shaky hands with his own. Gracie looked at him, allowing him to see the fear she possessed. "Nothing is gonna happen to you. They are just trying to get to John by using you as a scare tactic. But, to be safe, I don't want you leaving this ranch alone. I want you to have someone with you." Gracie looked at him confused. "But you just said that nothing was going to happen to me!" She argued back and Rip sighed. "It's just precautionary, Gracie." She sighed and pulled her hands away. "Alright," she conceded. "Thank you," Rip said.
***
"Why didn't you call me?!" Rip sighed and held the bridge of his nose. "Beth, they were here for 20 minutes! You were an hour away! What were you going to do?" Beth glared at him. "Be there for our daughter!" She argued back. "She's never once been dragged into the wars this ranch faces and now she has a target on her back! As soon as you told her she can't go anywhere alone, she knew about the target." Beth was pacing the front porch. "I never wanted this for her," Beth sighed and ran her fingers through her hair as emotion overcame her. "Hey," Rip said and pulled her to him. "Ain't nothing going to happen to her. We've been so good about protecting her, it took almost 21 years for her to get brought into this mess." Beth sighed again and laid her head on his chest. "If something happens, I'll never forgive myself," she whispered. Rip rubbed her back. "She's safe with us, honey. Nobody will get near her."
***
Gracie couldn't stop playing her parents conversation in her mind as she laid in bed. Her bedroom window was right above the porch and her parents were not exactly quiet talkers. 'She has a target on her back.' Replayed in her mind for hours. Gracie knew the ranch had enemies and they fought hard to keep their land, but she wasn't aware of how deep it truly went. She had ideas though because she knew Lee died getting their cattle back from reservation land, but there had to have been more to it. Gracie felt her door slowly opening. She turned to see Beth peeking her head in. "Can I come in?" She asked. Gracie nodded and sat up. Beth walked in, closing the door behind her. "Heard you had a crazy day. Just wanted to check on you." Gracie sighed as Beth sat down on her bed. "I heard you two talking," Gracie admitted and Beth's face fell. "Gracie..." Beth didn't know what to say. She didn't want Gracie to be scared. "It's alright. I want to know just how serious it all is." Beth nodded. "Well, we don't know how serious it all is. My dad refused to partner up with them so now he thinks they are going to be another enemy. Since this Malcolm took such an interest in you, Rip and my dad are worried about what that could mean. So, they are going to keep an eye on you until this blows over." Gracie nodded, appreciating Beth being honest with her. "Okay," Gracie said quietly. Beth looked at her daughter a playful smile appearing. "Another thing, if Rip ever finds out about Ryan sneaking in her and sleeping with you again, he may be a dead man." Gracie's cheeks felt hot and she pulled the blankets over her face. Beth laughed at her frazzled daughter. "Do it in the truck or the woods or the barn! Just don't do it here." Gracie groaned and sunk into her mattress. "Was he good? Wait was he your first?" She asked. "We are not talking about this!" Gracie whined, always uncomfortable how open Beth was about sex. Beth laughed again. "Alright. I'm going to bed." Beth stood up and looked at her daughter who was now not hiding behind her sheets. "Goodnight," Beth said gently and moved some of Gracie's hair back from her face. Gracie's eyes briefly closed at the touch of maternal affection. "Goodnight." Beth left Gracie back to her thoughts. She thought back to the night before with Ryan. She smiled gently to herself at how thoughtful he was to make sure her first time was in a bed and not his truck in an empty field. Gracie loved Ryan. She knew she was still young, but she dreamt of a future with him. Her hopes dropped though when she thought about having to tell him about their visit from the Beck brothers. She sighed and pulled her pillow over her face, dreading what the future was going to look like.